Divided We Stand
by Hamsta97
Summary: Sequel to 'Alpha Strike Team'. After Budapest nothing is the same. Half the team are in Westchester, the other in SHIELD. But SHIELD is changing and not for the better. As the agents come under attack, their friends are suffering the same fate. But will their paths cross again?
1. Westchester

**This is the long overdue sequel to 'Alpha Strike Team'! As always, read, review and enjoy!**

Ororo hurried up the stairs into the medical wing. Jean, Scott and the professor were behind the glass screen watching three men in the room on the other side. One of them was either asleep or unconscious, lying on the bed. He had black hair that was styled into two peaks and was covered in blood. He was wearing Kevlar and a shoulder holster.

"Who are they?" murmured Ororo.

The two other men were sat on one bed, their eyes flickering around the room and then returning to the unconscious man. One was huge, easily 6'7 with thick black hair and sharp blue eyes. He also had two handguns at his hips, two mid-thigh and a shotgun holstered in his back. The other man was blue with curly black hair, gold eyes and a tail. He had swords on his hips.

"They appeared on the doorway." said Jean. "The unconscious one is missing an arm. The other two took the guns off his body. I stopped the bleeding and stitched him up. They said they wanted to be alone with him."

Xavier added, "I couldn't get a read on any of them. To have such powerful mental blocks…"

Ororo frowned as the unconscious man's eyes opened. They were dark brown and shot around the room in seconds.

"You look like дерьмо." said the big man conversationally.

"Do me a favour Pete. Shut up." growled the other man.

The blue man smirked. "I guess it is true vat zey say now. You are indeed 'armless."

Pete laughed and the other man glowered at him before glancing at the glass pane.

"Двусторонний зеркало?"

"Da. We are in the X-Mansion."

Ororo stepped into the room and watched their reaction. The armless man sat up, suddenly seeming more alert and the Russian and the German were standing in front of him.

"And you are?"

The blue man was polite but Ororo could practically sense the wariness.

"My name is Ororo Munroe."

"Piotr. This is Kurt and the armless wonder is Logan."

Logan gave Piotr a brief glare but it didn't seem heartfelt. He hopped off the bed and rubbed the bandages irritably. He moved so that he was stood in the gap between Piotr and Kurt and slightly forward of both of them.

"So who's watchin' on the other side of the glass?" asked Logan.

"Jean Grey, Scott Summers and Professor Xavier." said Ororo, surprised that they'd realised the glass was two-way.

They walked into the observation room. Scott stretched his hand out to shake Logan's. The other mutant glanced at the hand but made no movement towards it. Scott flushed and dropped his hand. Ororo exchanged a glance with Jean.

"Hello Logan. I am Professor Charles Francis Xavier."

A brief spasm passed Logan's face. "Hi Charlie."

Xavier scowled and Ororo felt the temperature drop by ten degrees.

"Logan, you may call Professor, Charles, Professor X or just Xavier but you may not call me Charlie."

Logan shrugged. "Sure thing Chuck."

Piotr and Kurt laughed in sync. It was slightly terrifying. Xavier seemed to give up, recognising it as a battle he'd never win. Instead he instructed Ororo and Scott to give them a tour of the mansion. So off they went.

"This is the greenhouse."

Logan looked bored, searching his tattered Kevlar outfit for something. Piotr was listening intently, apparently finding it all fascinating. Kurt was playing with his tail. Logan triumphantly pulled out a cigar and then started searching for something else. Kurt let out an exasperated sigh and pulled out a lighter, lighting the cigar.

"When are you going to carry your own?"

"Why would I do that?" asked Logan, grinning. "I've got you and…"

His voice trailed off and Kurt and Piotr both stiffened. Scott didn't ask, though he very much wanted to. They moved on, showing them their rooms and providing them with clothes. The trio got dressed and re-emerged in time for dinner.

"This way." said Ororo.

Logan couldn't summon up any enthusiasm for his dinner, despite how nice it looked. His mind was turning over the day. Nick, the only father he'd ever really known, was dead. Clint, the only brother he'd ever really known, was dead. Natasha and Wanda, the closest thing to sisters he had, were dead. He'd stayed and worked at SHIELD because his family lived there, not because he firmly believed in SHIELD itself.

"So what are your powers?" asked Kitty, in awe of the muscled man sat next to her.

The giant Russian shifted uneasily in his seat. "I am called Colossus. Kurt is Nightcrawler and Logan is Wolverine."

"That didn't answer my question." pouted Kitty.

Piotr glanced at Logan who nodded. "I turn into metal. Kurt teleports and Logan heals and has six metal claws."

Kitty giggled. "He doesn't heal very well."

In her defence, she wasn't thinking clearly. Logan gave her a look that she seriously suspected could kill and said something apparently unflattering in another language. Kurt and Piotr winced and half-smirked. The three of them left their plates half-full and rose to their feet.

"We'll go to our rooms now." announced Kurt, teleporting the three of them away.

He deposited them all in Logan's room. He settled on the chair and Piotr flopped onto the bed. Logan on the other hand was currently living up to his name and pacing like a caged animal.

"So what do we do now?" asked Piotr in Hungarian.

They'd worked out a code, about three months into being SHIELD agents. Russian, German and English in front of people, in the comfort of their homes. Hungarian, Romanian and Thai on the job when they were worried people were listening in. It had been Kurt's idea and they'd drawn languages out of a hat.

"Three options." said Logan. "Go back to SHIELD missing half our family, go rogue or stay here."

A heavy silence fell over the room, broken by Kurt's tail swishing back and forth.

The teleporter offered his opinion first. "I zink ve should stay here. Ze only thing left at SHIELD for us is death. Here we could do some good."

Logan humourlessly asked, "Get rid of some of the red in our ledgers?"

Piotr's face twisted. "I agree with Kurt."

"I know. That's why we're staying. Go and… ah fuck try and get some sleep."

Logan watched his two best friends teleport out of the room and collapsed on his bed. He peeled the bandages off and stared up at the ceiling blankly. The day was finally catching up with him and it felt like his world was turning inwards. _Clint's dead._ The words buzzed round his brain like a mantra. Clint was the only other person he could speak Feral to, the only other person that understood the curse of being Feral. Clint was… Clint was everything Logan should have been to Victor. And now he was gone.

In the privacy of his room, Piotr undressed himself slowly, carefully examining his bruises. The only major injury he had was a cut where a stray bullet had hit while he'd been in the Danube. He held his yin-and-yang necklace and felt like crying. Natalia, his little sister, was dead and he'd been forced to leave her in Budapest. She was his light, the way Clint had been Logan's. And now she'd left him.

Kurt held his golden cross tightly and prayed. He couldn't find any reason for Wanda's death. None whatsoever. He pulled the small velvet box out of his uniform. It was in a special pouch, one that was supposed to hold lockpicks but since he could teleport to the other side of a door, they weren't a necessity. He opened the box and stared numbly down at its contents, gleaming away in the light. He was going to ask her after the mission. In front of the other four, he was going to get down on one knee and ask. He'd imagined it a thousand different ways and then he'd picked the moment. And now he'd never be able to ask her, never see her face light up and never hear her answer.


	2. The Balcony

**OK, the last chapter was a bit angsty and this one's going to be as well. But the rest should lighten up! One chapter is going to be in Westchester, the next in SHIELD, X-Men, Avengers, X-Men, Avengers etc. ENJOY!**

Clint watched blankly as Logan's arm was cremated. He could Logan swearing in the back of his mind, calling it ridiculous. And a small part of Clint agreed. The other part was ignoring that part and holding Natasha's hand. At least they had something of Logan to burn. When it was finished Fury turned to leave.

"Did you sort through their personal effects Clint?"

Clint nodded. "Yeah. It's all been divided up according to their wills."

Apart from various small bequests, everything Logan owned went to Clint, everything Piotr owned went to Natasha and everything Kurt owned went to Wanda.

"Good." said the director, sounding tired all of a sudden. "We need to speak to the Secretary. That means you Clint, as the current head of Alpha Strike."

Clint didn't argue, giving Natasha a quick kiss goodbye and following the director. Natasha watched him go and she and Wanda promptly drove to Clint's New York apartment. Once there they pulled out a couple of beers, sat on the balcony and drank.

"This… sucks." said Wanda.

"Yep."

Natasha couldn't conjure up any more emotion other than emptiness. They were incomplete now and always would be until the day they died. So the two women sat and drank in silence for two hours until they heard the front door bang open.

"Nat? Wanda?" called a familiar voice.

"Balcony!" replied Natasha, her hand still on her gun.

Clint appeared, his eyes yellow. It had been three years since Clint had lost control but Natasha could see it creeping up on him.

"What happened between you and the Secretary?" asked Wanda.

"That little," here Clint muttered a word so low neither Wanda nor Natasha caught it though it was probably unflattering, "has decided that it was a rogue Hungarian terrorist group. Not HYDRA."

Natasha frowned. "Did you tell him about the markings on their uniforms and the fact that they yelled 'Hail HYDRA'?"

Clint nodded viciously. "Yes. And he said they were trying to confuse us and how could _I_ know what they said because I'm deaf."

He then launched into a blistering Feral rant that, if past experience with Clint's insults was anything to go by, seemed to be suggesting that Secretary Pierce could go do something anatomically impossible to himself. Natasha and Wanda ignored him.

"Well that can only mean one thing." said Natasha. "There's a leak in SHIELD that links to HYDRA."

"Right. Or HYDRA's got something over him." Wanda pointed out.

Clint chimed in, "Maybe it's that they know that he's a piece of shit-eating horse's ass-faced jerk."

"I highly doubt it's that." replied Natasha. "Or he's the leak in SHIELD."

They sat in silence, weighing the idea in their minds. Clint could easily believe it but then he and Pierce had always had an antagonistic relationship.

"So what do we do?" asked Wanda, her eyes landing on Clint.

The archer ran a hand through his hair and lit up a cigarette. He thought quickly and took a quick drag of the cigarette.

"We pretend we believe him. We play along until we get the chance to a) confront him, b) prove it one way or the other or c) kill him."

Natasha nodded. "I can do that."

"Me too."

Clint gave them a brief smirk. "Good. I'm gonna climb up to the roof."

Neither of them stopped him as he went. Wanda headed to her room and Natasha stayed on the balcony. She was liking the idea of killing Pierce more and more.


	3. Danger Room

Logan woke up with a jolt. The memories of freezing needles were still buzzing around his brain. He blinked a few times, trying to get his bearings. When he heard a scrape in the lock, everything else vanished and Logan focussed on whoever was trying to get his room. He positioned himself behind the door, Colt in hand. The door pushed open and Logan moved, grabbing the intruder's wrist and spinning them round, pinning them to the wall.

"Logan!" cried Ororo in shock and no small amount of pain.

The mutant had pinned her to the wall with his body and was pointing a very large handgun at her head. She took several deep breaths, remembering Logan's extreme senses. If he smelled fear, he'd react. His eyes were currently hazel, not dark brown. When the three had arrived Logan had told them that if his eyes were hazel _leave me the fuck alone and let Elf and Tin Man deal with me. _

"Logan," repeated Ororo, making sure she was speaking calmly and clearly, "it's me. Ororo. Storm."

The flecks of green and amber in his eyes slowly faded and Logan stepped away from her. He turned his back on her, dropped the gun on the bed and headed over to the wardrobe, pulling a T-shirt out.

"Sorry." he said suddenly.

Ororo blinked. She hadn't expected him to apologise.

"Why did you do that?" she asked.

Logan's head popped out of the T-shirt, his hair a mess. He strapped his shoulder holster on and began fixing his hair.

"Because ya startled me. I don't like it when people come into my room uninvited. Apart from Kurt and Piotr obviously."

"Obviously." echoed Ororo, eying the gun. "Why do you carry weapons in a school? We are not about to be attacked and even if we are, you appear to be more than capable of defending yourself without a weapon."

Logan's gaze stayed trained on her as he put the gun and another obscenely large one into his holster. He struggled a bit with his left side, considering he only had a stump there.

"I don't like being weaponless. It makes me feel naked."

"You have your natural weapons." said Ororo.

Logan gave her a ghost of a smile. "I have half my natural weapons and until the rest of my arm grows back, I'm stuck."

In the three months the three men had been there, Logan had regained an upper arm though it ended just above the elbow joint. He headed after Ororo and locked his door. They headed downstairs in silence to be greeted by Kurt and Piotr who were leaning on the banister rails at the ground.

"Whose bed did you crawl out of?" asked Piotr, grinning.

It was a phrase he'd picked up from Clint. Whenever Logan had turned up to a meeting/meal with messy hair the younger mutant's face would curve into a knowing smirk and he'd ask the question. The worst part was that whenever he'd asked, Logan had crawled out of someone's bed.

"Yours." replied Logan, returning the grin.

Piotr rolled his eyes. "Not my type."

Kurt snorted and followed them off to the kitchen. Ororo headed after them, smiling slightly as Piotr and Logan got into an argument based on Logan's appeal to every sex. Kurt was chipping in with comments and occasional marks out of ten. They entered the kitchen. Scott was already there, with Hank.

"Hank!" cried Ororo in delight. "I thought you were still in Washington!"

Hank beamed. "I had some holiday so I decided to take it."

"Who's the furball?" asked Logan, earning a smirk from Piotr.

Hank straightened his back. "I am Hank McCoy, Secretary of Mutant Affairs."

Logan waved his hand. "Right. The secretary. Nice suit."

Charles, who had just wheeled himself in, interrupted. "Hank, this is Logan. He's ah…"

Hank nodded. "The Wolverine. I hear you're quite the animal."

Logan smirked. "Look who's talking."

Once again the professor intervened. "Why don't we all go down to the Danger Room? Logan, are you going?"

"Yeah."

They headed down to the Danger Room with Logan, Piotr and Kurt quietly murmuring in another language. They had a tendency to do that, Charles had noticed. He suspected that it wasn't because they were deliberately excluding everyone else but because by now it was second nature to them. They arrived at the Danger Room. Everyone else dressed in X-Men suits apart from Logan, Piotr and Kurt who stayed in their street clothes. Charles went to set the controls.

"Alright team!" said Scott, rubbing his hands. "Let's do this!"

Bobby saluted. "Yes sir!"

The simulation was a team of giant robots in an abandoned town. Scott turned to face the group.

"Alright, there's three robots and twelve of us. We're going to split into three groups of four. Team One, myself, Bobby, Rogue, and Jean. Team Two, Ororo, Kitty, Jubilee and Rahne. Team Three, Hank, Logan, Piotr and Kurt. Let's go!"

Logan, Kurt and Piotr looked at each other and around them. They'd been given the robot in the middle.

"Ya thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" said Logan with a grin.

Piotr responded by grabbing the neck and waist of his clothes, spinning him round and throwing him. Hank sprang forward.

"This mission is about teamwork!"

Piotr steadied himself, looking round. "We worked as a team. Didn't we Kurt?"

Kurt nodded. Then a giant robot head fell to the ground in front of them, closely followed by Logan who landed on his feet.

"I zink you killed it." Kurt pointed out.

"Ya think?" asked Logan. "Hey Ruskie. Make sure."

Piotr nodded, turned to steel, grabbed the head and crumpled it between his fists.

"OK, now it's dead." conceded Logan.

Hank looked furious but just then the simulation ended. Ororo, who'd seen what had happened stormed over.

"What the hell was that?!" she spat.

Logan tilted his head on one side. "Winning."

"This was supposed to be a defensive teamwork exercise!"

"Best defence is a good offence. Or is it the other way round?"

Kurt laughed and they left. Ororo glared at them but said nothing. Hank caught her and she dropped back.

"Do you trust them?" asked Hank quietly.

Ororo frowned. "I don't know. Sometimes they are hostile and violent. Other times they are kind and polite. I don't know what to make of them."

"I could do some digging if you like."

"Please."


	4. The First Mission

Clint shifted slightly as he stared down at the base he was watching. Natasha was on one side, Wanda on the other. God he fucking hated stakeouts.

"I need some movement." whispered Wanda. "I'm going to go see what's going on further down."

Clint tossed her a cap. "Cover your hair. And be careful."

She nodded and moved down silently. This was their first mission since Budapest and they were in fucking Siberia watching a base suspected of manufacturing and selling the parts to nuclear weapons. So SHIELD had sent them to check it out and when they gave the OK, destroy it.

"Cold?" whispered Natasha.

Clint shook his head. "You?"

"A little."

He was about to shrug off his jacket and give her it when Wanda reappeared.

"They've definitely got the parts they need."

Clint asked, "Well?"

Coulson replied through the comm link. "Take them out Agent Barton. That's an affirmative. Take them out."

Clint grinned. "Roger that sir."

He unstrung his bow and nocked an arrow. The three of them crept down the snowy slope, until they reached the barbed wire fence.

"I'll fly us over." said Clint, grabbing a redhead in each arm and flying over the top.

He landed neatly and let them go. They managed to slip into the base undetected. Clint scaled up to the catwalks that had been put up there for maintenance. Wanda and Natasha followed, walking with slightly less confidence than him.

"How do you manage up here?" asked Wanda quietly.

Clint shrugged. "Tightrope's tougher."

Natasha smirked. "I can just see you in a purple leotard."

"Now, now Nat. Don't get carried away. This is a mission after all."

Coulson added drily, "And you're broadcasting to half the Bridge."

Clint snickered. "Oh goodie. Would everyone like a photo of me in a leotard?"

"I knew you wore a leotard." muttered Natasha triumphantly.

The archer ignored her, slipping over a railing and glancing around. He held a hand up and crouched down to get a better look at the activity going on beneath them.

"Holy…" muttered Clint, pulling out his phone, snapping a few photos and sending them to Coulson. "Hey Coulson, I just sent you some photos. Check them for me."

"On it Hawkeye."

Natasha glanced around. She was OK with heights but Wanda had never been entirely comfortable with them. Clint on the other hand, had evolved for heights. They waited in tense silence for five minutes until Coulson crackled back on the comms.

"The man you managed to photograph is an international terrorist called Goliath."

Clint interrupted. "That's a shit codename."

There was a note of faint exasperation in Coulson's voice when he continued. "He's been at the number ten spot on our list for five years. Take him out agents. And his crew."

"Do we blow the place up?" asked Wanda quietly.

"Negative Scarlet Witch." answered Coulson. "We'll send in a clean-up crew of experts in nuclear research to deal with the material in there."

Clint nodded. "Noted. See you later."

He got to his feet and directed Wanda to the right side of the catwalk. She headed down to the end and stood, facing one direction. Natasha headed to the left, facing the same direction as Wanda. Clint stayed in the centre, turned to face the opposite direction, nocked three arrows and sighted on Goliath.

"On my mark. One… two… three."

He let the arrows fly. Before they'd even hit their marks, he'd swung his bow to hit the next mark. Behind him he could hear bullets zinging all over. The terrorists were finally returning fire. Clint ducked one fusillade of bullets and shot an arrow at the shooter. He went down, dead before he hit the ground.

"They're like roaches!" he yelled to Natasha and Wanda.

He briefly heard a laugh before it was cut off by swearing. They fought on, until Clint ran out of arrows. He had his SHIELD-issued Smith &amp; Wesson M&amp;P but he hated firing that damn thing. All the same, he pulled out and began firing it. When that eventually ran out of bullets, he jumped into the fray. Admittedly, hand-to-hand wasn't his greatest strength but he had knives.

"Shit!" exclaimed one of the arms dealers.

Clint sliced his throat open and stabbed another in the eye. Eventually there were no more left. Natasha and Wanda reappeared. They'd both run out of bullets and Wanda was limping.

"You OK?" asked Clint.

"Turned my ankle. It's nothing."

"Coulson, we're clear."

While Natasha checked the arms dealers were all dead, Clint and Wanda gathered up his arrows. Then they cleared out. Coulson greeted them at the SHIELD base.

"You three did a good job today."

"Thanks sir." said Clint.

He nodded and left. Natasha and Wanda went to get showered while Clint debriefed. Then he headed to his own shower, loneliness pressing down on him. Normally Logan went to debrief with Clint and they gave their two separate accounts, Logan's from the melee and Clint's from his sniper's nest. Then they headed back to their showers, bickering about something. There was now a 6'3-sized gap next to him. He pushed open the door to his room.

"Hey Clint." said Natasha softly.

"Hey baby."

He leaned down to kiss her and collapsed on the bed next to her. Natasha locked the door and sat back down. She ran her fingers through his hair and Clint leaned in slightly.

"What's wrong _yastreb_?" asked Natasha.

"I'm tired." replied Clint, rolling over onto his back.

She laughed slightly and kissed him before curling up next to him.

_**Yastreb- **_**Hawk**__**(Russian)**


	5. The Train Station

Logan headed up the stairs. He'd been working out in the gym. Piotr and Kurt were somewhere else, probably winding Scott up or eating. When he stepped into the rec room, the TV was on and the adult mutants were gathered round it. Rogue, Bobby, John and Rahne were busy playing table football.

"Logan!" called Kurt without looking. "You have to see zis."

The Canadian walked over and stood behind his blue friend. "What is it Elf?"

"You know ze conference ze Professor und Jean vent to?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah, the one with Kelly."

"They're showing it now." rumbled Piotr.

Logan leaned forwards, watching Jean give her speech on mutants. It was interesting, he'd admit but he could already tell Kelly wasn't impressed. Then the Senator got up to speak.

"That doesn't answer the question. Are. Mutants. Dangerous?"

Logan snorted. "Yeah. Especially if ya piss them off by makin' them register."

Kurt and Piotr chuckled but fell silent almost immediately afterwards.

"Do we want our children taught by mutants?!"

When Kelly had finished, Logan could tell it was a lost cause. Half the crowd was on its feet, applauding and whooping. Piotr's skin had gone faintly silver. It had started to do that when he got close to losing his temper after Alkali Lake. Kurt's tail was swishing.

"Shit." muttered Logan under his breath. "They're gonna pass the goddamn fucking bill."

Piotr nodded. "But maybe not nationally. It could be passed in some of the states."

"One of the states is too many." said Scott with conviction.

For once, Logan couldn't argue. They watched the debate until the end. Kurt got up and stretched before teleporting over to the pool table.

"Logan, you vant a game?"

Logan picked up a pool cue. "Who's breaking?"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Piotr was asleep in his bed when he woke up to hear a scream. It was a scream he was intimately familiar with. _Logan._ He shot out of bed and hastily unlocked his door, running down the corridor.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" yelled Logan.

Piotr arrived at Logan's room to see several students and teachers already gathered there. Kurt had appeared and was pushing his way through. Then Piotr saw what they were all looking at. Rogue was sat on Logan's bed, three healing stab marks on her chest and her hand on his face. Logan himself looked slightly stunned. When Rogue moved her hand, Logan collapsed to the floor. Ororo moved closer and Rogue scrambled to get away.

"Ah'm sorry. It was an accident."

She pushed her way through the students. Kurt and Piotr pushed their way into the room, kneeling by their friend's head.

"Get a pillow under his head!" ordered Jean.

Kurt grabbed the nearest one, stuffing it under Logan's head. _Now pick him up Peter _said Jean in his head. Piotr scooped Logan up very carefully and placed him back on the bed.

"What do we do now?" asked Kurt.

"Wait." said Jean. "There's not much else we can do. I'll send the Professor in in the morning but I think I should stay here."

Scott bristled. "All night?"

Jean seemed to reconsider. "Ororo, would you mind staying?"

"No, of course not."

Piotr lowered himself into a chair and Kurt also settled into one. Ororo glanced over at them and sat on the edge of Logan's bed. Jean and Scott left.

"Call me if there's a change in his condition."

Ororo nodded. When the door shut she turned to look at Logan. There was something in her eyes that reminded him of the way Natasha used to look at Clint.

"He vill be OK, von't he?" asked Kurt, suddenly sounding childlike.

Ororo nodded. "Yes. Jean knows what she's doing."

At some point Ororo left and Professor Xavier came in. Logan woke up just after the sun rose. Piotr got to his feet and stretched.

"Logan, you are OK?" asked Kurt.

"I feel like she almost killed me."

"If she'd held on any longer, she might have." said Xavier.

"Can we go?" asked Piotr.

Logan waved them off and grimaced. "Yeah sure. I'll see you later."

He was aware of the professor watching him as Piotr and Kurt teleported away.

"Is she OK?"

_Five hours later…_

Ororo found the professor and Scott.

"I looked all over the mansion. She isn't here."

Kurt, Piotr and Logan bamfed in to hear the tail end of the sentence.

"Who isn't here?" asked Logan.

"Rogue. She must have taken off." said Scott. "She got here about a month before you. Must still be scared."

Logan swore under his breath. "So let's find her."

Jean glanced over. "And how do you propose to do that?"

"The old-fashioned way." said Logan.

"Look." chorused Piotr and Kurt.

There was a brief silence before the professor wheeled himself into Cerebro.

"What is that thing?" asked Logan.

Jean glanced over. "It allows him to connect to every mind on the planet."

Kurt asked, "Have you ever used it?"

"No. For someone like me it's…"

Scott finished, "Dangerous."

There was a pause before the professor wheeled himself back out. "She's at the train station."

Logan glanced at Kurt. "Ready?"

Kurt grinned. "Who am I taking?"

"Scott and Ororo as well as Peter and Logan." said the professor.

Kurt nodded and held Ororo's hand. "Everyone hold hands."

"Find a buddy." muttered Logan to Piotr who laughed.

It was the first comment Clint made about Kurt teleporting the group of them by holding hands. Kurt laughed.

"Ja. Now grab on!"

Logan held Ororo's hand as they teleported. They landed just outside the train station. Ororo and Scott staggered slightly. It was an improvement over Wanda's reaction. She'd doubled over in the gutter and vomited.

"Ororo, go and ask at the ticket desk, see if anyone's seen her. I'll check the leaving times. Logan, go round the platforms. Kurt, teleport onto the pipes up there and see if you can spot her from up there. Peter…"

"I go with Logan." answered Piotr.

Scott shrugged. "OK. We'll meet up in half an hour."

They nodded and split up. Logan and Piotr started at the closest platform.

"Well?" asked Logan.

Piotr shrugged. "I can't see her. What happened last night?"

"I was havin' a nightmare. She came in and tried to wake me up. I…"

"Reacted?" suggested Piotr innocently as he glanced over at a dark-haired girl.

Logan smiled. "Yeah. So she grabbed me and it was terrifying. Felt like my life was being sucked outta me."

Piotr shuddered and they gave up on that platform. Moving on, they saw Kurt crouched on the pipes. He waved over and carried on scanning. Logan tensed up for a moment and Piotr stopped to look back. The Canadian waved his hand and they kept walking. The rest of the platforms were a bust and then they heard a scream. Logan and Piotr started running, skidding to a halt in front of the ticket office. A huge man, almost the same size as Piotr had grabbed Ororo and lifted her off her feet. Piotr saw Scott turn and lift his hand to his glasses. A man stuck to the wall, _when the hell did he get there_, flicked his tongue out and knocked Scott's glasses off. A bright red light lit up the station and blasted the roof off the station.

"I'll go find Rogue!" called Piotr as he started running.

Logan barely seemed to hear him, yelling, "Victor!"

Kurt sprang into action the minute he saw the light. The man was laughing and Kurt teleported above him. He dropped and kicked the man square in the face. The man lost his grip and tumbled to the ground. Kurt got there first and kicked him in the head. If he had his swords, the man would be a shish-kebab by now. The man wrapped his tongue around Kurt's leg and jerked. He sailed through the air, teleported and landed both himself and the other mutant on top of a train. Then he pulled out his switchblade to slice the man's tongue off. The man let go and bounced off. Kurt turned to see where he'd gone. Then the train got ripped in half.

Logan barely heard Piotr shout as he ran off. He was still watching Ororo being hoisted into the air. Then the pieces clicked.

"Victor!" he roared.

The man holding Ororo turned round and grinned. He was almost exactly how Logan remembered; a smug smirk, shaved head, fangs pointing out in that smirk and yellow eyes. Ororo looked up to the sky and her eyes went white.

"Hello little brother. I see you've mislaid an arm."

"Bullshit." snarled Logan. "I know exactly where it is. It's in Budapest."

Victor laughed. "Yes, I heard about that little mission and your so-called team. What was the alias again? Alpha Strike?"

Logan smelled the ozone in the station pick up and he guessed Ororo was brewing a storm. Victor was slowly tightening his hold on her neck and Logan figured she had another thirty seconds of consciousness. His brother was still musing and smiling.

"What was the little bird-boy's name? Clarence?"

Logan's throat tightened as he bit out, "Clint."

"What was that little brother?"

"His name. His name was Clint."

Victor laughed. He opened his mouth to say something else when a bolt of lightning came down and hit him. Ororo hit the floor and began to crawl to Scott. Logan himself was blown backwards and slammed onto the floor. He grunted and scrambled to his feet. Thunder was still booming overhead. Victor had gone straight through the wall. A green man jumped through.

"Quit playin' around!" snapped the man.

Victor snarled. He came back through the wall, his eyes gleaming. Logan stood in front of the hole, sliding his claws out.

"Ooh, shiny!"

The green man hopped off. Victor dropped to all fours and ran towards Logan. The younger Feral dropped into a crouch and brought his claws round to hit Victor's arm. Victor yowled but knocked him back anyway. Logan sheathed his claws and jumped to his feet.

"Tell me," said Victor conversationally, "what did Clarence say when he died? I heard from a friend he died screaming."

Logan threw himself at Victor, slamming an adamantium fist into his stomach. Victor growled and swiped his hand, claws out, at Logan.

"Respect for your elders little brother. So… bird-boy's a sore spot huh?"

He'd barely finished his sentence before throwing himself at Logan, dragging his claws down his chest. Logan stabbed him and headbutted him before kicking him in the groin. Victor blocked the incoming and swung his other fist round to hit Logan's head. Logan's reflex to block was dampened by his missing arm. Victor hit so hard, even Logan saw stars though he also heard Victor's bones crack. As he staggered from the blow, Victor kneed him the stomach and pushed him away. Logan stumbled and had to grab a bench for support.

"I have one question. One last question little brother." Victor was laughing more than ever, smugly grinning. "Did you ever fuck him? He was pretty, I'll give you that. Did you shove him into the wall and-"

Whatever Victor was about to say was lost as Logan completely snapped. He let out a furious howl and flung himself at Victor, sinking his fangs into his brother's neck. He stabbed Victor in the stomach three times and was about to slice his head off when he went flying into the air. Something else was controlling him. Logan went through the glass and landed on one of the platforms. His last sight of his brother was Victor staggering to his feet, pushing his intestines back into his stomach before he blacked out.


	6. The Army Base

Clint lit up a cigarette as he walked on the Helicarrier's deck. He'd finished giving a mission briefing to Fury and Coulson and the day was now his own. Sort of. There wasn't an awful lot to do on an airborne metal ship in the middle of the ocean. A couple of mechanics were working on a Quinjet.

"Barton! Hey Barton!"

Clint turned to see Bobbi Morse jogging over to him.

"Agent Morse."

"I wanted to say how sorry I was. About Agent Howlett and Rasputin and Wagner. And I'm sorry about the way I behaved on the orientation tour."

"Thanks."

Bobbi gave him a friendly smile. "Anyway, one of the techs is looking for you. Apparently Agent Romanoff's threatening them. Why did he say again?"

Bobbi frowned as the senior agent groaned under his breath. He headed off to the lab and Bobbi went with him. She needed to speak to them about a new listening bug for her mission. Clint looked pissed off since one of the even more senior agents made him put his cigarette out.

"Fucking government regulations." he muttered.

"Yeah, must be a drag."

Clint laughed as he swiped them into the lab section. "So what did you do before you joined SHIELD?"

"I did a PHD in biochemistry."

"No shit?!"

"No shit."

Clint shook his head admiringly. "That's pretty cool."

Before Bobbi could respond they entered the lab. Natasha was arguing with a terrified-looking technician. He only looked about eighteen.

"Tasha, baby, lay off the lab rat." was Clint's half-hearted attempt to smooth things over.

Natasha went into a furious blast of Russian that apparently made Clint wince. He argued back in the same language until they seemed to reach an agreement. Natasha left and Clint rolled his eyes. His phone buzzed at the same time as Bobbi's.

"I don't suppose you got a text to see Dad did you?" asked Clint.

"Yep."

"Let's go."

The two of them left, to the relief of the lab tech. They arrived at the main briefing room to find Natasha already sat there with Wanda Maximoff and a female agent Bobbi didn't recognise. Clint nodded and took a seat next to Natasha. Bobbi took the seat next to the unknown agent.

"Agent Morse this is Agent Isobel Hartley."

Hartley nodded to her. "Nice to meet you."

"And you."

Fury continued, "You'll be assigned to her team. Your first mission is to find out where the hell Goliath got tech like that from."

Hartley and Bobbi left, leaving the three members of Alpha Strike.

"New mission?" asked Clint.

Fury frowned. "Sort of. There's an Army division that's trying to replicate the super-soldier serum. I want intel."

Wanda replied calmly, "You vant us to break into ze Army base don't you?"

"Yep. There's a Quinjet waiting for you."

The three of them got to their feet and grabbed their weapons. They were on the Quinjet and off in ten minutes. Clint was flying the jet and Natasha and Wanda were discussing strategies. They landed near the Army base and left the Quinjet. When the team reached the base it was empty apart from two guards making their rounds.

"OK, I'm gonna go check out the entry log, see if there's anyone else here." said Clint softly. "I'll let you know when it's safe to come over the fence."

They nodded. Wanda could fly them both over, thanks to the Super-Soldier Serum. Clint unsheathed his wings and flew over. He landed and ran over to the entry hut. A soldier was sat in it, right by the phone. Clint swore internally. He threw a stone at one of the SUVs parked up. The soldier's head snapped up and he ran to investigate. Clint slipped inside and checked the log. There were four people's names written inside that hadn't exited.

_Sergeant Benjamin Wilcox Entry: 19:30. Exit:_

_Private Frederick Adams Entry: 19:35. Exit:_

_Private Jonas Hunt Entry: 19:36. Exit: _

_Doctor R. Bruce Banner Entry: 10:34. Exit:_

Clint slipped back out and hid from the soldier. He lifted his hand to his comm.

"Alright, we got three soldiers on base, the two patrolling and the one in the entry hut. And we got a civilian. Doctor R. Bruce Banner. Guy came in fourteen hours ago and never left. I hate guys like him."

Natasha asked drily, "Dedicated?"

"Nerds."

Wanda replied, "Clint you can quote all the Star Wars and Star Trek movies off the top of your head without having to think."

"And Lord of the Rings." added Clint, ducking under an SUV.

"Congratulations Legolas." muttered Natasha.

They met up at the entrance door with a key card Natasha had swiped from one of the guards.

"The computers are this way." murmured Wanda, taking the lead.

Clint dropped to the back, bow drawn. He was still wary about the unplanned-for civilian. The computer rooms weren't as well-guarded as they should have been and Wanda was already logged on and downloading the files by the time Clint got into the room. _20%... 21%... 22%..._ Clint's head whipped round when he heard a noise.

"I'm gonna go investigate that."

Before Natasha could say anything, Clint was gone. So she took up his place by the door and watched him fade into the darkness. _36%... 37%... 38%..._ Natasha hated waiting. It was the main reason she was rarely behind the comms like Logan, Clint and Coulson were. She hated waiting for the updates. The only thing from the comms was Clint's breathing.

"Scarlet Witch, are we nearly done?" hissed Clint suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Almost." replied Wanda, focussed on the screen. "We're at 49%."

"That's less than halfway."

There was no answer. Natasha checked her watch and swore as the minutes ticked by. Any minute now, the soldiers would be coming to patrol down this corridor. There were no footsteps and Clint's voice suddenly started whispering in Natasha's ear.

"I found the doc. He's doin' some kinda experiment. Which is totally normal 'cos he's a doc and all. No, no, that's not normal, dude don't do it! Don't be the mad scientist trope of bad science fiction! Don't… oh. I think he did…."

Whatever he did remained a mystery as there was a huge flash of green light that made Natasha shield her eyes and a terrifying roar.

"Hawkeye?" whispered Natasha. "Hawkeye, come in!"

There was a long moment of silence before… "Holy fucking shit! Download status!"

"90%." hissed Wanda. "Vhat ze hell vas zat?!"

"Get the memory stick and get the hell out! I'll meet you on the other side of the fence."

Wanda stubbornly answered, "Nein. Ve need zis data!"

Clint swore and Natasha heard running footsteps from outside the room. She swung her pistol up to shoot the intruder in the chest. The door swung open and Clint appeared, looking terrified. He closed the door until only a crack showed and crouched down.

"What the hell was that?!" asked Natasha.

Before Clint could answer, another roar sounded and heavy footsteps started pounding towards the trio.

"Wanda!"

_94%... 95%... 96%..._

"Nearly zere!"

The footsteps got louder and louder until the door was shaking. _97%... 98%... 99%..._ The crack in the doorway became filled with green skin. Clint cringed backwards and Natasha sucked in a breath. Now they were desperately hoping the download would take its time and not alert the creature outside. After a moment the creature charged off. The computer beeped and they snatched the memory stick and ran. The creature had disappeared. It was nowhere to be seen outside so Wanda flew Natasha over the wall while Clint had a last check. He couldn't see the soldiers and the entry hut had been crumpled. They got back to the Helicarrier and filled Fury in on everything.

"It was the doc. Must have been. He was fiddling with some instrument and it blew up. Hit him square in the chest. Then he fell to the floor, started wriggling. Then he turned green and grew… he was huge sir." finished Clint.

Fury ran a hand over his head. "Alright, Maximoff, run a search on this Doctor R. Bruce Banner. See what you can dig up on him. Get Sitwell to start running facial recognition. Romanoff, start searching through the data you pulled from the base. Find out what the hell happened. Barton, sit your ass down, I didn't give you permission to leave."

Clint sank back into his chair. Natasha and Wanda slipped out, leaving Nick and Clint alone. The archer leaned back.

"Well?"

"The Council says you need another member on Alpha Strike."

"Bullshit!" spat Clint before Nick even had a chance to finish. "We've got enough Dad! We don't need anyone _new_."

There was a slight emphasis on 'new' that Nick hated. Clint was glaring at him defiantly, reminding Nick of every time the boys had been told off or told to work harder when they were teenagers.

"Clint, it's what the Council says. They claim that while there is a sniper, linguist, spy and computer whiz, there isn't a weapons or munitions expert."

A heavy silence fell on the room for a full minute before Clint finally caved. "I'll look through the gifted index."

He got to his feet and left, slamming the door behind him. For a moment Nick thought he saw a familiar bulky form stood in the corner, laughing and lighting a cigar. It was nothing more than a ghost that disappeared when he turned his head, but that particular ghost was one Nick could live with. After all, his photo was stood on Nick's desk, one of all his kids separately and together, on Christmas.

"_Miss me Pops?"_

Nick groaned and pulled out the bottle of Scotch he was using more and more these days.


	7. A Surprise House Guest

When they got back to the X-Mansion, Scott, Jean and the professor went to the professor's office. Ororo, Kurt, Logan and Piotr headed into an empty TV room. Well, it wasn't as empty as they thought. Kitty, Bobby, Jubilee and John were watching a movie.

"Bobby, did you tell Rogue to leave the X-Mansion?" asked Ororo.

"No." replied Bobby, looking confused. "Why?"

Piotr rumbled, "She said you did."

"I didn't."

Kurt groaned. "Mystique."

Logan swore under his breath and opened his jacket to scowl at the bloodstains on his shirt. Kurt was frowning.

"Vhat do zey vant viz Rogue? She is not ze most powerful mutant in ze vorld, not even in zis place."

Piotr shrugged. "She is still powerful. A method of torture maybe?"

Kurt countered, "But he has Sabretooth. Zey can do vhat ve used to do."

Bobby turned round, "Why, what did you used to do?"

Logan smirked and got to his feet. "I'm gonna fer a smoke."

Piotr waved him off and Logan left the room. He was fumbling for his pack and lighter when he heard footsteps behind him.

"What did Kurt mean?" asked Ororo.

"We had ways to get information."

Ororo looked horrified. "You tortured people?"

Logan kept walking towards the door but he could literally smell her anger. She reached a hand out, caught his shoulder and spun him round.

"Did you torture people Logan?" He didn't reply. She repeated the question, more like a statement this time. "Logan, you tortured people?"

He rolled his eyes. "We needed information they didn't wanna give. We got it. No more question asked, end of story."

"How could you?!"

She could see him getting more and more impatient. "We needed information."

Ororo retorted, "Is that it?! You felt nothing when you were putting people through hell?!"

"No! I didn't know them, I didn't give a fuck about them! I cared about my family! I was protecting them! What would ya do for the people ya love?!"

"Not that! There's a difference between killing to protect and torture!"

Logan lost whatever patience he'd had left. "No there isn't! I was doin' my job and I was protectin' my people!"

"Your job?! I thought…"

He ran a hand through his hair and Ororo took an involuntary step back. She'd never been afraid of Logan before.

"Yeah. My job. What did you think it was?! James Bond shit? Well guess what, that's not how it works! We did our jobs, we tortured or killed or blew people up and we went home knowing we'd put another dirtbag down! That was our job and we were good. We were the goddamn best in the business. But the business wasn't nice."

Ororo opened her mouth to answer back, to tell him that there was still a difference between being an assassin and a torturer. Logan didn't wait for her to finish. He turned on his heel and walked away. There was a pounding on the door but before she could get there, Logan got there first. He opened the door and a man fell into his arms. He grunted, lifting the man upwards so Ororo could see his face.

"Senator Kelly!"

"Oh shit." muttered Logan, dragging him up to the infirmary.

Jean was contacted and came up to look after the senator. Scott and Charles came up as well. Logan left to smoke. Piotr and Kurt joined him. Logan lit up a cigar and took a deep breath of smoke.

"You und Ororo had a big argument." commented Kurt, balancing on the balcony railing.

"Yeah well, she found out me and Clint used ta interrogate people."

Piotr grunted. "It happens."

The way he was eyeing Kurt worried Logan. The big Russian had a history of pushing people, off the Helicarrier when he was bored. Piotr stretched his hand out and Logan decided to intervene swiftly.

"Let's go see if they got anything outta the senator."

Kurt grumbled, "_Ich hasse Politikers_."

Piotr laughed and they headed down to the office. They walked in to discover Ororo stood next to the professor behind his desk and Scott and Jean were opposite it.

"Senator Kelly was kidnapped by Magneto and put in a machine. Magneto started it up and it turned the senator into a mutant." explained Jean quickly. "He's going to use it on the world leaders at the UN summit tonight."

Scott suddenly turned to the professor. "You said this machine weakened Magneto right?"

Xavier nodded. "Yes. It very nearly killed him."

Logan looked up at Scott. "That's why he wants Rogue. He's gonna transfer his power to her!"

Xavier went to Cerebro to try to find her location, leaving the others to wait. Logan propped his feet up on the professor's coffee table and began cleaning his guns. He had to use his stump to pin the gun in place while his right hand cleaned it.

"Can I?" asked Kurt. "It has been a vhile."

Logan grunted and handed his Colt over. Piotr asked to take the other one. The other three were pacing and talking quietly. The worst part of the mission, of any mission, in Piotr's opinion, was the waiting. He always felt pent-up and itching when they were on the Quinjet or lurking on recon. Jean put her hand to her head and cried out.

"Jean?!"

"It's the professor, Cerebro!"

Kurt took Logan and Piotr there first before hastily returning for the other three. They found the professor in a coma on the floor. Jean and Kurt took him to the infirmary. The rest of them retreated. Eventually Jean came downstairs, partially supported by Scott.

"What happened?" asked Piotr.

Jean answered weakly, "I used Cerebro."

"I thought that was..." began Logan.

"It is." interrupted Jean. "But I know where he's taking Rogue. Liberty Island."

"That's just fucking ironic." muttered Logan.

Ororo appeared from the infirmary. "Senator Kelly's dead."

All six of them changed into their uniforms and boarded the Blackbird. Logan was holding onto the arm rest so tightly his knuckles turned white. Kurt and Piotr seemed to find it amusing. The landing made them bounce and Piotr longed for Natasha's flying.

"Sorry about that." said Scott over Logan's retching.

Logan growled and rose to his feet. The look on his face suggested that he highly doubted the sincerity of Scott's apology.

"Let's go kick ass!" cried Kurt, grinning.


	8. Liberty Island

Logan growled and rose to his feet. The look on his face suggested that he highly doubted the sincerity of Scott's apology. The team crept into the base of the Statue of Liberty. Logan stopped.

"Something's not right."

"Vhat?"

"I don't know." he growled. "Keep an eye out."

Wolverine heard a noise behind him and turned to see another Wolverine staring back at him. Cyclops lifted a hand to his visor.

"Don't shoot!" shouted both Wolverines at the same time.

The other Wolverine sliced his claws across some wires, causing a wall to fall between the Wolverines and the X-Men. Then the second one shifted, his skin turning blue and scaled.

"Mystique. So ya _not_ here to check up on ya son?"

Mystique didn't answer, swinging a foot up towards Wolverine's face. He blocked it, or would have done if he had a full arm. As it was, he missed and she kicked him in the face. He grunted and grabbed her leg. One twist later and he could hear the bones crack.

"Ah!"

Mystique punched him in the face and he reacted, biting her hand. She yanked it away and jumped onto a ledge.

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me." muttered Wolverine.

She sneered and jumped, wrapping her thighs round his neck. Wolverine stabbed his claws into Mystique's leg and was rewarded by her letting go. By the time he'd turned, the blue-skinned mutant had disappeared. Wolverine swore under his breath, sheathed his claws and ran to find the others.

Colossus turned his head as both Wolverines disappeared from view. Nightcrawler shrugged and they headed further into the museum. The Russian pulled out his shotgun and cocked it, waiting for an attack. Four mutants appeared in front of them. One was the green man from the train station, two were conjoined twins and the fourth was a huge fat man, vaguely recognisable. The green man jumped at Jean and the two of them disappeared behind Colossus. Cyclops lifted his hand to his visor and let out a blast of energy. It hit the fat man and bounced off. Luckily it hit the wall.

"That worked." drawled Colossus as he fired his shotgun.

It blew one twin's head clean off.

"LUKE!" screamed the other twin.

The next shot took his head out. The big man turned his head.

"You shouldn'ta done that."

Nightcrawler rolled his eyes and teleported away. Colossus turned himself to metal. The fat man charged and Cyclops shot off after Jean. Storm had vanished.

"Do they call you Blob?" wondered Colossus idly as he fired another blast.

The bullet shattered against the man's stomach.

"Got another shot?!"

Colossus shrugged easily and switched to holding the shotgun by its barrel. He swung into Blob's face. The man shrugged it off.

"Oh come on!"

Blob tackled Colossus and the pair of them went flying through a wall. Colossus grunted as he hit the floor. Blob started pummelling the Russian's face. The shotgun was kicked to the side and it became a blow-for-blow wrestling match.

Nightcrawler teleported off to find other enemies to take out. He found one man, staring out at the UN conference. Nightcrawler crept towards him, drawing his sword. The man clearly heard, turned and made a pushing gesture with his hands. The teleporter went flying backwards and managed, thanks to years of circus training, to land on his feet. He then teleported behind the mutant and sliced his head off.

"Terrorists." he spat in disgust.

Wolverine stood in the middle of the entrance hall and looked around. There was a dead pair of conjoined twins lying on the floor, both their heads blown off. Wolverine put that down to Colossus' shotgun. There was also a large hole in the wall and a pair of men were wrestling. One was ridiculously fat and the other was silver. _Colossus._ The Feral jogged over and stabbed his middle claw through the fat man's head. The man spasmed and died. Colossus pushed the man off and took the offered hand.

"I leave for ten minutes and ya get ya ass kicked by a blob."

"He took great offence to that name." commented Colossus as he picked up the shotgun. "He dented my shotgun!"

"Sue him." was Wolverine's helpful suggestion.

It was helpful. He honestly didn't see why he deserved the middle finger Colossus gave him or the unflattering Russian name. They headed back into the entrance hall and looked round. Storm appeared in front of them.

"There you are. We need to regroup."

Wolverine admitted, "We do. But there's a problem."

Strom frowned and took a step closer. "What?"

Wolverine buried his claws in her stomach and whispered, "Ya not parta the group."

He stepped back and watched. Storm's eyes turned cloudy white and for a horrible second, Wolverine thought he'd made a terrible mistake. He could feel his heart clench as she collapsed to the ground. Then she started writhing and turned blue with red hair. Wolverine let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding.

"For a minute I thought…" began Colossus.

"Me too."

They heard footsteps and spun to see Cyclops and Jean come running towards them. Cyclops put a hand to his visor.

"Whoa, hey it's us!" called Colossus.

"Prove it!"

Wolverine answered, "Ya a dick."

Cyclops dropped his hand. "OK."

Storm's head appeared over a railing several stories up with Nightcrawler's.

"You have to come up here!" she called down.

Colossus and Wolverine glanced at each other and yelled up, "Come and get us!"

Nightcrawler muttered something about the laziness of his family and teleported down to get all four. Colossus de-steeled and they headed up into the Statute of Liberty's head.

"Where is he?" wondered Jean.

Nightcrawler noticed that Wolverine had gone very stiff.

"Get outta here." he growled.

"Why?"

"Because I can't move."

Then Colossus' shotgun and Nightcrawler's swords flew out of their hands and onto the floor. Wolverine's guns also joined the pile and he went flying into the wall. Metal straps on wall detached themselves and snaked around the X-Men's feet, arms and waists, attaching them to the wall. Wolverine was trapped anyway. Magneto appeared with Sabretooth.

"Ah, how good of you to join us. Though I don't think you'll be needing those."

He went to flick the weapons away when Nightcrawler spoke suddenly.

"Nein! Bitte Magneto. The sword, it vas… it vas a present. From my fiancée. Bitte. It's ze only zing I have left of her."

Magneto shrugged, then turned to Wolverine. "Why don't we point your claws in a safer direction?"

Wolverine's arm, the full one, moved slowly until it was facing into his chest. The minute the claws came out, the lung got skewered.

"Storm, fry him!" called Cyclops, as his glasses were removed.

Magneto snorted. "Yes. A lightning bolt into a giant metal structure. I thought you lived in a school."

Wolverine had several smart remarks on his tongue but at a glare from Colossus said nothing. Instead he fumed. Magneto sighed.

"None of you understand do you? I'm trying to _help_ our kind."

Just then Rogue's voice screamed, "Please, someone! Help!"

"Ya so fulla shit." snarled Wolverine. "If ya meant it'd be ya up there in that machine instead o' a kid!"

Magneto glared at him and Wolverine felt his lower jaw push up against his upper jaw, rendering him speechless. Magneto left, leaving them with Sabretooth. The big mutant strolled over to Storm and crouched down.

"Ya owe me a scream."

His accent was eerily similar to Wolverine's. Wolverine looked over at Nightcrawler and Colossus and nodded to them. Nightcrawler looked like he was swearing or praying under his breath. It was strange how similar those two looked. Colossus returned the nod. Wolverine unsheathed his claws, breaking the metal bar that was pinning him in place and puncturing a lung.

"Argh!"

He collapsed to the ground and lay there.

"Logan!" gasped Jean.

Sabretooth growled and reached down to grab the back of Wolverine's neck. The smaller mutant rolled out of the way, jumped to his feet and ripped his dog tags from around Sabretooth's neck.

"_This is mine._" he snarled.

Sabretooth bared his teeth and lunged. Wolverine slashed his claws across his face. The big mutant threw Wolverine out of the hole in the statue's head before following him. Nightcrawler could hear snarls and swearing coming from above them.

"Can you teleport out?" asked Colossus.

"Nein. Ze bar is too tight across mein throat. Can't breathe properly, can't focus enough. Magneto knows vhat he is doing."

"Think he knows your father?" wondered Colossus.

Nightcrawler raised his eyebrows in a 'I-really-don't-give-a-fuck' way. Then three metal claws pierced the metal in front of Jean's face.

"So he's alive." commented Colossus.

Cyclops asked, "What was that?!"

There was another long pause.

Storm asked, "Colossus, can you turn into metal?"

Nightcrawler watched out of the corner of his eye as Colossus turned his hands to steel. His eyes widened, his mouth fell open and the steel faded back to skin.

"Nyet. The metal won't shatter. Is like a handcuff for normal people. It would be too tight, like cutting your blood off."

"_Ich hasse Magneto._" muttered Nightcrawler under his breath.

Sabretooth jumped down into the hole with a thud, smirking.

"My God." whispered Storm.

Cyclops asked desperately, "What's happening?!"

Sabretooth stalked over to Storm, crouched down and snarled, "Scream."

Wolverine thudded down after him. "I ain't done with ya bub." He held up a pair of red glasses. "And ya dropped these."

He threw them up into the air and Jean narrowed his eyes. Sabretooth left Storm and began to move towards Wolverine. Jean positioned Cyclops' glasses at an angle.

"Scott. Open your eyes."

"No."

Nightcrawler, Colossus and Wolverine shouted in unison, "Do it!"

Cyclops opened his eyes and the bright red bolt shot out, bounced off the glasses and hit Sabretooth in the chest. The huge Canadian's eyes widened and he flew off the statue to fall into the water below. Wolverine sliced off Colossus' bonds and headed to Storm. Colossus cracked his neck from side to side and turned into steel. He ripped the metal bands off Jean first so she could remove Cyclops' before yanking them off Nightcrawler. Wolverine tore Storm's off and gave her a hand up.

"So, how do we get up there?" asked Jean, looking up at the machine where Rogue and Magneto were stood.

A bright white light began to glow around the machine and spread outwards.

"I teleport up zere vithout metal and knock Magneto out."

"Who breaks the machine?" asked Storm.

"I do." rumbled Colossus. "I have no metal if I leave my shotgun and don't change."

Nightcrawler took off his crucifix, leaving a paler strip of blue skin round his neck. Colossus grabbed Nightcrawler's shoulder and they teleported up to the machine. The blue-skinned mutant teleported behind Magneto. The white light had hit the shore of New York. Colossus ran up to the machine and Nightcrawler tapped Magneto on the shoulder. The older German turned and Nightcrawler punched him in the face before wrapping his tail round Magneto's neck and tightening it. Within seconds Magneto was passing out. Two punches later and he was out. Colossus tore the metal apart, catching Rogue in his hands.

"Shush, it's OK. We got you. We got you."


	9. Meet Darwin

Clint leaned back in his chair as he flicked through the files. The gifted index was sorely lacking in anyone he thought could be a team player. Not that Clint himself was much of a team player but that was beside the point.

"Clint!" called Natasha. "Me and Wanda are going to order a pizza. Do you want anything?!"

Clint shouted back, "Yeah, I'll have cheesy garlic bread and a large pepperoni!"

"OK."

Clint heard the door of his apartment click shut and stretched his neck. Then he clicked the next file. _Darwin… _He read the file closely, trying to read between the lines. In the end he got to his feet and went to track him down.

_To: Tasha_

_Gone 2 find mutant 4 team. B back in 1hr. Ish. Cya. Cxxx_

He was halfway down his street when he got the text back.

_From: Tasha_

_You asshole. We just ordered your pizza. Nxxx_

_To Tasha:_

_Ill nuke it when I get back. Cxxx_

Clint hailed the right cab and ducked into it. The driver nodded a greeting.

"Where to?"

"Wherever you want to go Darwin."

Darwin almost stalled the cab. "How the hell did you…"

"CIA file from 1962. I must say, you look fabulous for a 40-year-old. Dermatologists must hate you."

Darwin laughed. "You remind me of someone I used to know."

"Yeah? Tell me, when you came back to life why didn't you go and find your friends?"

"I only came back as you put it two years ago. And I'm stuck. No social security number, no qualifications, no bank account."

"Why haven't you got a social?" wondered Clint, glancing out the window.

Darwin laughed again. "Well I do. But it belongs to a seventeen-year-old that died in a terrorist attack in 1962."

Clint smiled, all fangs. "Yeah, I can imagine that'd be a dampener. Still, I've got a job offer if you're interested. For the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division. I prefer SHIELD. We're better than the CIA. I know you can do better than a taxi driver."

Darwin parked the car and turned round in his seat. "What's in it for me?"

The blond man shrugged. "Money. Doin' somethin' good for good people. Protectin' and all that shit. And… I might be able to give you a family. It's broken and dysfunctional as hell but I think it's better than the one you've got."

Darwin ran a hand down his face. "What the hell, it's not like you can hurt me."

"That's the spirit! I think. Clint by the way. Clint Barton. They call me Hawkeye. I'll show what I can do back at my place."

"Wonderful." muttered Darwin.

Clint flashed him another friendlier grin and they got out of the taxi. Darwin wasn't sure about leaving it but Clint didn't seem bothered so neither was Darwin. They walked through the city to a more run-down area where Clint's apartment was. He jogged up the stairs and Darwin followed.

"You'll have a helluva trainin' programme. I just thought I'd share that. It's brutal."

"I'll adapt."

Clint laughed, a quick huff of air out of his mouth before unlocking his door. He kept his hands up as he entered the flat and Darwin saw why. A pair of women were sat on the couch, guns raised.

"Take it easy ladies. I brought a friend. Lock the door."

So Darwin did and turned to look at his new teammates. They were a few years older than him, one with red hair and sharp dark green eyes while the other had dark brown hair and the same sharp eyes.

"Redhead is Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow. Capable of wall-crawling, sensin' lies and generally kickin' people's ass. This is Wanda Maximoff, Scarlet Witch. Capable of hexes that'll burn like a bitch and flight. Ladies, Armando Muñoz, Darwin. Capable of adapting to any situation. Can I shoot you?"

"Sure." said Darwin, a little hesitantly.

Clint pulled out a gun and fired into the side of Darwin's head. It bounced off the stone that had formed there.

"Impressive." said Wanda. "Clint, the pizza's in the microwave."

Clint split it with Darwin.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Armando slowly adjusted to his life with Alpha Strike. It was a lot different to back in the Sixties. There was more technology, more tolerance though sometimes he caught dirty looks off other agents. There was a large dent on the floor of the Helicarrier that apparently Clint and the other members of Alpha Strike had made. Armando had heard all about the former members. Wanda mentioned Kurt a lot, usually when she saw a couple. Natasha talked about Piotr a lot, comparing him to a grumpy big brother. But Clint didn't talk about Logan much. Armando had seen the photos. Clint and another bigger ripped guy, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders, heads thrown back laughing. There were several scattered throughout Clint's room. Armando had even found one of Logan and Clint bent over Clint's Charger, grease covering their faces and concentration written across every feature.

"Who was the photographer?" he asked one day.

Clint glanced up. "Kurt. Never fuckin' stopped. Everywhere you looked, he was there snappin' away. It's weird how much you miss it. All the annoying habits."

They were in the observatory deck, completely alone. Natasha and Wanda weren't fans of the deck, claiming there wasn't enough glass for something so high up.

"You don't talk about Logan much. The girls, they talk about their partners all the time."

Clint sat up, eying Armando warily.

"Me and Logan weren't as simple as they were. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sayin' their relationships weren't as important it's just… ours was weird. We're Ferals so we kinda have this different view on most things. Like sex. For Ferals, it's not just causal. Not really. Ferals have to have intimacy. The Ferals that live outside regular society tend to sleep with other members in the pack. It's not like an orgy or anythin'. It's… bondin'. Me and Logan, before I slept with Natasha for the first time…"

"You bonded?" guessed Armando.

Clint nodded slowly. "Yeah. It was just what we did. It's fine if you're both over sixteen. If one of you is under, it's not good. Very bad. But yeah… we bonded."

Armando looked over. "I won't tell anyone. Not if you don't want me to."

"I think Tasha knows. I never mentioned it but she's got that spider-sense. But when we slept together me and Logan stopped."

Armando said nothing. Clint got to his feet, clapped Armando on the back and left.

"Good talk."

"Yeah." Armando called back. "Good talk."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Clint!" called Natasha. "Mission briefing."

Clint glanced up from where he was working with Armando in the lab and rolled his shoulders.

"Come on. Dad gets grumpy if we're late."

Armando followed him to Fury's office. Fury gave them all a hard stare.

"No doubt you've heard of Senator Kelly."

Clint growled in the back of his throat but said nothing. His opinions on the senator were well-known. Fury rolled his eye.

"And you've heard of the summit occurring at Ellis Island. I want you four there, guarding. The Brotherhood will probably be involved and I don't want _anything_ to interrupt this meeting. If the politicians see mutants doing good, mutants who haven't registered. Well, who knows what could happen?"

Clint nodded. "We'll fix it sir."

"Good. Now go on, get on the jet."


	10. Three Mile Island

Natasha knew this wasn't going to be a fun job when she walked onto Ellis Island. Senator Kelly was missing for one thing which was a good thing certainly but there were several politicians to deal with. Clint sent her and Wanda to handle them since the pair of them had more tact. When this was done, Clint deployed them to various places. Natasha and Wanda were towards the front of the meeting, near the politicians' chairs. He and Armando were hanging back, watching.

"Coms secure?" asked Clint.

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"Ja."

Clint nodded once and let the meeting flow. There were police further out and a few SHIELD support staff. Pierce was there, making a speech. The summit was boring, so boring that Clint began to amuse himself and Armando by making up scandalous stories about the presidents, prime ministers and generally very important people on the stage.

"OK, British Prime Minister? Totally fuckin' POTUS."

Armando replied, "I don't even know what POTUS means."

"President of the United States. There's way more to that special relationship than they want us to know."

Armando hid his grin with a coughing fit. Clint looked perfectly cheerful and continued with his story, embellishing it constantly. When he stopped suddenly Armando looked back at him. His laser stare was pinned to the Statue of Liberty. Armando squinted and thought he saw a bright white light.

"What the hell?" murmured Clint, watching the light grow bigger. "Darwin, you seein' that?"

"Yeah. What do we do?"

"Evacuate. Widow, Witch, you hear me? Get them the hell out."

Natasha interrupted the current speaker and urged him out. Everyone began to run out, full-blown panic not far away. Armando stepped closer.

"What the fuck is it?"

"Hell if I know." replied Clint, unslinging his bow.

Armando gave him a disbelieving look. "You gonna shoot it?"

"No. I'm gonna go over there and shoot whatever's causin' it."

"Real smart plan there Hawk. Real smart."

"Fuck you."

Armando gave him a shit-eating grin and moved closer to the light. It had crossed the water now and washed over Armando who nearly fell over. It stopped at Clint's boots and disappeared.

"You OK?"

Armando nodded. "Yeah. Are we gonna go check it out?"

"What do you think?"

They collected Natasha and Wanda, leaving the support crew to deal with the irate and scared people. Clint commandeered a boat from a very pissed-off man and they sailed over to the Statue. Natasha drew her gun, Wanda created small hexes and Armando pulled a knife. He preferred knives to guns.

"What the fuck?" asked Natasha.

The metal detector had been stabbed and there were plenty of dead bodies on the floor. A pair of conjoined twins for one, both their heads blown off, a grotesquely fat man lying on the floor with a stab mark in the middle of his forehead. The area around him was trashed. Wires had been cut, blood decorated the floor. A couple of SHIELD support crew had followed and were calling in paramedics for a security guard. Clint took his team further up. Another mutant lay dead, a stab wound in his heart. Inside the head of the Statue of Liberty there were stab marks in the metal, bars that had been ripped away and on the torch was a broken machine and an unconscious Magneto.

"OK, for veird shit, this vins hands down." said Wanda.

Armando laughed. Clint didn't. Stab wounds and blown-off heads were MOs he was intimately familiar with. But there was no chance. Was there? No. There wasn't. Unless… but… Fuck.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Back at the Helicarrier Clint didn't share his suspicions with anyone. Fury gave him a few strange looks as did Danny and Luke but he waved them off. Fury gave them a new mission. A mutant research centre, Three Mile Island. They geared up and headed off.

Three Mile Island was a former nuclear plant. Hawkeye and Darwin headed one way, Black Widow and Scarlet Witch the other. The plan was simple. Black Widow and Scarlet Witch would find and kill or subdue the scientists and collect the data. Hawkeye and Darwin would kill or subdue the guards (most likely kill) and free the captured mutants. So Black Widow and Scarlet Witch headed off. They found three guards and after a brief fight killed them. All but one.

"Where's the lab?" asked Scarlet Witch.

Black Widow held a gun to the injured man's head and took the safety off. The guard told them instantly. The Russian squeezed the trigger and looked on in disgust as the man wet his pants as he died. They moved off in the direction the man said. Their progress was halted by six guards, all stood with machine guns, chatting in front of a locked gate. Scarlet Witch sent a hex in the opposite direction to their actual location and three guards went to investigate. Black Widow fired three times, hitting the guards in the chest.

"Shit! Kevlar."

The guards stumbled but didn't die, instead lifting their machine guns and firing. Black Widow began firing back with a machine gun stolen from one of the dead guards. Scarlet Witch took advantage of the guards' divided concentration to create a hex, causing a blinding flash of light. The guards turned away and Black Widow fired at their heads. They fell and didn't get back up. The door was opened by pressing one of the dead guards' hands to the palm scanner. They walked up the stairs, killing any guards or scientists that appeared. The actual lab was like something out of a horror movie. Five metal tables lay alongside each other, all with bodies on. Some were dead, some Black Widow sincerely hoped were dead.

"What the-?" asked one scientist as a hex hit his chest.

The rest turned to flee but were killed swiftly. Scarlet Witch began downloading the data the scientists had onto SHIELD's memory sticks. Black Widow investigated the corpses.

"This is wrong." she said, staring down at a teenager's body.

The next one was a middle-aged woman, strapped to the table, blood slowly being drained from her.

"Kill me, please." she gasped out.

Black Widow obliged. The woman gave her a smile as she lifted the muzzle of the gun. It stayed after the shot. Scarlet Witch had just finished the download when four people appeared. One man wearing red glasses, a redheaded woman, a girl with white streaks in her brown hair and a blue furry man. The redheaded woman lifted a hand and deflected the bullets Black Widow fired. The man with the red glasses pressed a hand to the side of his head, creating a blast of red plasma. The agents ducked. The white-streaked girl reached out and grabbed Scarlet Witch's wrist. Scarlet Witch collapsed and Black Widow jumped at the girl. The Russian grabbed the girl's hair, avoiding her skin, and slammed her head into one of the metal cabinets. She was about to slit her throat when the other redhead flicked her hand again and Black Widow flew through a window. She landed two stories down and had just enough consciousness to think _shit_ before passing out.

_Meanwhile, across the island…_

Hawkeye could hear the bangs and yelps through his com. He wasn't bothered. Both women were highly capable agents who could lay his sorry ass on the floor any day of the week. Darwin looked slightly more perturbed. God, it was weird to think that Darwin had been kicking around the same time as Clint's parents. Unbelievably weird.

"Guards." whispered Darwin, dropping to a crouch.

"You know the drill." replied Hawkeye.

Darwin sprang to his feet and ran towards the guards. Hawkeye moved further out and fired his first arrow. As it whizzed through the air, the guards turned and began firing at Darwin. If the bullets hit they made no impact and soon the guards stopped firing. Hawkeye retrieved his arrows and they moved deeper into the facility.

"This place gives me the creeps."

"Yep." replied Darwin, surprising and stabbing a guard. "How close do you think we are?"

Hawkeye shrugged. "Two minutes. Widow, Witch, status report." Silence. "Widow. Witch. Come in. Tash, don't fuck with me." He turned to Darwin. "They talkin' on your com?"

Darwin shook his head. "You think they got caught?"

"Dunno. We finish our mission, we go get them."

The other mutant nodded. "Sure."

Darwin followed the archer as they zigzagged over to where the mutants were. He didn't like the silence, anything that could stop Black Widow or Scarlet Witch was not something he wanted to meet. Even with his 'adapt-to-survive' thing. Hawkeye took out the last two guards guarding the mutants.

"Door's locked. See if they've got a key."

Darwin crouched and rummaged through the guards' pockets. "Nope. Their bosses clearly didn't trust them."

Hawkeye grunted and tried to twist the lock off. No result.

"It was worth a try."

Then he pulled out one of his knives. It was one of the special adamantium ones. No-one else was allowed to touch them, not that Natasha or Wanda ever looked particularly inclined to. They seemed to go out of their way to avoid the adamantium knives. Hawkeye slashed the lock and was about to pull the doors open when he slammed his head into the doors and passed out cold.

"Hawkeye?! What the-?"

Darwin could feel an invisible force slamming his own head into the doors. But his skin had turned to metal, preventing him from being knocked out. Turning round showed a redheaded woman, a girl with white-streaked brown hair and a man with red glasses.

"Make one wrong move and I'll snap your friend's neck." said the redhead coolly.

_She must be a telekinetic. Fuck. _Darwin lifted his hands slowly, making sure to sheathe the knife. He smiled reassuringly at them but it didn't seem to work.

The man spoke next. "Walk in front of us and follow our directions. Otherwise your friend dies. Understand?"

"Perfectly."

The man nodded. "Good. Walk over here. Slowly."

So he did. Hawkeye's body floated next to him, blood slowly leaking down his head. The man waited until Darwin was in front of him before moving. Not that Darwin was going to try anything. He'd wait until Hawkeye woke up. _The yelps… they got the girls as well._ The group walked in silence over to a plane. Darwin was ordered to sit and was handcuffed to the chair. Hawkeye was handcuffed to another chair and the two girls were already there. A furry man was watching them from the pilot's seat.

"The others are seeing to the prisoners." said the white-haired woman who was nowhere near old enough to have white hair.

The furball nodded. "Good. Let's get out of here."


	11. Reunion

Hank stood next to Ororo and observed the prisoners uneasily. They were in separate cells on the very lowest levels of the mansion and still unconscious apart from the black man. The cells themselves had been painted white and had a bed, toilet and sink. There was a tiny slit in the door for meals to be pushed through and a camera in the top corner.

"Is the professor on his way?" asked Hank, more to break the silence than because he wondered.

Ororo nodded. "Jean couldn't get through their blocks. She says they're as strong as Lo…"

She stopped speaking but Hank knew what she was going to say. As strong as Logan's. His digging in the files had turned up nothing, not even a scan of the trio's distinctive tattoos. Once Logan's upper arm had grown back he'd vanished for a day and reappeared with an alpha symbol tattooed on it. The door opened then and the professor wheeled himself in.

"What do we know about them?" he asked.

Hank answered. "One of them has wings and another was immune to Jean bashing his head against a metal door. I think his power may be similar to Peter's."

Ororo let out a strangled noise. When the two men turned to investigate she was typing at the control panel, singling out the winged man's cell. He'd woken up now and was pacing round the room like a caged animal. That wasn't what made her gasp though. He'd shrugged off the protective jacket he'd been wearing and begun moving his arms, probably to check for injuries. His left arm had an alpha symbol tattooed on it.

"I knew I should have dug deeper." muttered Hank.

Xavier studied the blond man. He'd finished testing his arms and had moved onto checking his legs. He glanced up at the camera and grinned, baring his fangs.

"He reminds me of Logan." commented Ororo. "I think it's the way he moves."

"Show me the others."

Both women were now awake though groggy. Then Xavier flicked to the final cell. He stared down at the restless man and left the room. Ororo and Hank exchanged looks.

"What was that about?" asked Ororo.

Hank shrugged wordlessly. They focussed on the cell Xavier had just entered. The man jumped to his feet.

"Charles?"

"Darwin. Alex told me you were dead."

Darwin smiled sardonically. "Close enough."

"How long have you been…?"

"Three years. I heard Erik killed Shaw. I'm glad about that."

Charles shook his head. "It wasn't the answer, it brought him down to Shaw's level."

Darwin's tone grew icy. "With all due respect Charles, it wasn't you Shaw disintegrated."

Charles switched the topic quickly. "What were you doing on Three Mile Island?"

"My job. Not a taxi driver anymore."

The conversation continued, and Darwin reluctantly explained he worked for SHIELD. Charles phoned Fury and had a brief discussion with him and then handed the phone to Darwin.

"You're to co-operate fully with Professor Xavier, is that understood Agent Muñoz?" barked the director.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Make sure Agent Barton understands as well."

"Yes sir."

"I'll come to debrief you in three days."

"Yes sir. Goodbye sir."

The phone clicked and Armando grimaced. Clint was never good at co-operation. He glanced at Xavier and grimaced. This could be an interesting couple of days.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Logan was sat in the kitchen with Piotr, Kurt, Jean and some of the older students when Xavier rolled in, accompanied by Hank and Ororo. The students were eating while watching Logan and Piotr arm-wrestle. Kurt, who'd seen it all before, was absorbed in the newspaper.

"As I'm sure you all know, some of our X-Men went on a mission to Three Mile Island last night and captured four people of unknown origins. As it turns out, these people work for SHIELD, a close ally of ours and they will be working with us for the next few days. I expect you _all_ to be polite to them."

Kitty leaned forward at the word _SHIELD_. Everyone knew, or strongly suspected at least, that Logan, Kurt and Piotr had worked for SHIELD before they came to the mansion. Well, that was what she'd overheard Mr Summers and Miss Grey talking about.

"I will allow them to introduce themselves and you can get to know them."

Then the operatives walked into the kitchen. Kurt and Piotr began shouting at Logan in their native tongues while the two women turned to the blond man and began asking him rapid-fire questions in… German and Russian. The black man looked unnerved, like he'd seen a ghost. Kitty took the opportunity to get a quick study of them. The main man seemed to be the blond one with the blue eyes and huge brown wings. He only looked early twenties, like the redheaded woman and the brunette while the black man looked more like he was eighteen.

"Yes, it is! Now shut the fuck up will ya?!" snapped Logan.

"Definitely them." said the brunette, switching to English.

At those words, the floodgates seemed to open. Kurt teleported over to the brunette, wrapping his arms and tail round her, murmuring 'Wanda, mein Wanda' under his breath. Piotr and the redhead met in the middle, him lifting her up so they were face-to-face. The blond man and Logan just stared at each other.

Logan spoke first. "Who's the friend?"

The blond moved then, so quickly Kitty couldn't process it properly. His arm jerked, there was a flash of silver and Logan was falling off his chair. When the movement slowed, Kitty realised Bobby's steak knife was now buried in Logan's chest.

"Dammit Hawk." sighed the black man. "What is your problem with communication?"

"Ask him."

Logan grinned up at him from where he was kneeling on the floor. Blood stained his teeth.

"Your aim always was the best thing about you."

"I heard it was my mouth."

"How the fuck did you hear that?"

The two men stared at each other and Kitty got herself ready to drag Rogue and Bobby out of the room. Then, as one, Logan and Hawk began to laugh. Hawk made his way over to Logan, holding his hand out. The Canadian grabbed it and jumped to his feet. He pulled the knife out and tossed it in the sink.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Ask him." repeated Hawk, still grinning. "He can talk."

The black man heaved a sigh. "I don't get paid enough to put up with your shit. Name's Armando."

"Logan."

"I know who you are."

The redhead jumped down and introduced herself as Natasha. The brunette introduced herself as Wanda.

"You didn't give us your name." said Rogue, looking at Hawk.

"Clint." he replied, absently pawing at his chest. Then he stopped and his eyes hardened. "Where the fuck's my necklace?"

"All your weapons have been taken off you and it's the necklace you have an issue with?" asked Bobby in disbelief.

Logan put a hand on the back of Clint's neck. "We'll go get it."

Apparently 'we' meant Natasha, Wanda, Piotr and Kurt as well. Armando didn't go with them, instead helping himself to a soda. Kitty opened her mouth but a warning look from the older teen stopped her.

"So, Charles, what do you wanna know?" he asked.


	12. Party Party Party

Logan stole quiet looks at his rediscovered family as they walked along. There was one question itching in the back of his mind.

"Did Dad have a funeral?"

Clint gave him a puzzled look. "Why the fuck would he have a funeral?"

"I rang him. In Budapest. I rang him and some guy called Johann Schmidt answered and said Dad was gone and that he'd been killed."

Natasha heaved a sigh. "Johann Schmidt's the Red Skull you idiot. There were dodgy communications around the time of the attack but it wasn't focussed on. Fury's coming to debrief us in three days."

Logan nodded slowly. "Well fuck."

They got the necklaces back and Kurt teleported away. He reappeared but refused to say anything until they got back in the kitchen. Then he dropped to one knee.

"Wanda, I… I have wanted to do this for so long but I never thought I would get the chance. So, before someone blows something up somewhere, I would like to ask you to do me the honour of marrying me."

Wanda smiled softly. "Of course I'll marry you."

Clint said, "Congratulations," at the same time Logan said, "Commiserations."

Jean gave Logan a stern look. He grinned at her in response. Clint snickered under his breath.

"We need to have a party." announced Wanda. "Tomorrow. I'll call the folks back home."

Kurt nodded. "I'll sort out this side."

So everyone was dispatched to carry out duties. Clint drew the short straw in calling Fury and dealing with the hour-long rant that followed about 'motherfuckers not telling me a goddamn thing, were you gonna tell me when I came to debrief you or something you fucking idiot?' Logan and Piotr were sent to fetch alcohol and the students came up with a playlist.

_Party day…._

The mansion was unrecognisable when Clint pulled up in his Dodge Charger. Someone had put food out on a buffet table in the kitchen, with the alcohol put out of reach of younger children.

"Let's go Dad."

Nick glowered at him before stepping out. Natasha was already there, looking beautiful as always in a red dress. Clint made a beeline to her while Nick tracked down Logan who was currently robbing students of their money in a pool game.

"That's _not_ how you teach kids to play pool."

Logan dropped the pool cue and turned to hug him. "God, it's good to see you."

Nick smiled. "You have no idea."

Clint reappeared at that point, with a beer in each hand. "Jamie! Drink with me!"

"Shut the fuck up Frankie."

"Boys."

The two of them grinned at each other, then him before chorusing, "Yes Dad."

He threw his hands up in disgust and went to find the bride and groom. Clint laughed as he watched his dad go before handing Logan the beer.

"Drink up Jamie."

"I fuckin' hate ya."

"I'm Batman."

"I still fuckin' hate ya."

"Yeah I know."

The rest of the night passed in a blur for Logan, meeting up with Danny (read: arm-wrestling), Luke (more arm-wrestling) and both the Jesses. Phil was there, looking uncomfortable in a suit and Jasper and Maria. He got separated from Clint at one point and ended up running into Armando. Now, the logical side of Logan liked Armando. He was a good guy. The other, less logical side, wanted to tear him limb from limb.

"You said you knew who I was. The day we met I mean."

Armando nodded, taking a pull from his bottle. "That's true. I did. There's photos all over Clint's apartment. You and him, you, him and Natasha, you on your own, you with a swordfish and a knife in your shoulder that I don't even want to know about."

"Lanzarote was a fun time." offered Logan.

Armando ignored him. "Y'know, for a while I thought you and him had a thing before he started dating Natasha. Clint says no but I still think you have a thing for him. Is that why you don't like me?"

OK, Armando was drunker than Logan had realised.

"No."

"Then why? 'Cos, from what I can tell you have literally no reason to hate me. I watch his ass in the field, I'm his second-in-command apparently. He promoted me. Which is great considering I'm technically eighteen. Youngest ever I reckon."

"Clint was sixteen when he got promoted."

Armando pointed at him. "This is why I think you like like him."

"Go find Dad. You're pissed."

"Yes. In all the ways possible."

Then Armando wandered off, leaving Logan stood outside, watching Ororo and Hank dance to one of the faster songs. Logan didn't know it but Ororo seemed to, given the way she was belting out the words. A couple of other people were dancing as well. Logan lit a cigar and drew back slightly, into the shadows of one of the trees.

"You realise the actual wedding party's gonna be worse right?" asked a voice directly above his head.

"You bastard." replied Logan. "You were listening the whole damn time."

"Yeah."

Clint dropped out of the tree, landing next to Logan and stealing a cigar.

"Since when did you smoke?"

"Budapest. Yeah, I was listening. Wondered how you two were gettin' on. Badly, it turns out."

Logan shrugged guiltily. "He's a good guy. I… I kinda like him. Sort of."

Clint's eyes were fastened on the party but his body was taut.

"Why don't you like him?"

The older mutant shifted awkwardly. "I just… would you believe me if I said I had no good reason?"

"So you're jealous."

Logan glanced down. "No!"

The Iowan took a drag of the cigar and blew the smoke out. "See, the thing is it's jealousy when you're worried they'll take what you have. It's envy when you want what they have. We have a bond, you know that. We're pack."

"I'm not in love with you."

"Well thank fuck for that." replied Clint almost icily. "Because I'd probably stab you again. When we were younger, when me and Nat weren't sleeping together, then it was alright. I talked it out with her once, when I was drunk. She knew. Did you know that? But she got it. It was a pack thing. So it wasn't a problem." He started laughing suddenly. "She said, she said it was fine if we carried on now we're reunited. She doesn't mind. I'm in love with a fucking gem, did you know that?"

Logan smiled. "Thank fuck for Red huh?"

Clint's smile mimicked his own. "Thank fuck for Tasha. We're still pack Jamie, even if you don't come back to SHIELD. Just because we're not with each other 24/7 doesn't mean you're not my brother… Wait, was that a triple negative?"

"Quadruple."

Clint shook his head. "How long have you been making goo-goo eyes over Monroe by the way?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." answered Logan with a calm he didn't feel.

"So I'm makin' it up when I smell you gettin' all envious when Furball's dancin' with her?"

"Yes."

Clint switched topics suddenly. "You remember before Wanda and Kurt got together and they'd look at each other and stink?"

"So did you and Red to be fair."

"That's how Monroe smells when she looks at you."

With that Clint was gone, slipping back into the party like he'd never left. Logan forgot about his own cigar, leaving it burning between his fingers as he stared after his brother.


End file.
